Syracuse, N.Y. — Last year, Michael Carter-Williams had a few brief days to determine the course of his basketball career.

The former Syracuse point guard finished his sophomore season when the Orange lost to Michigan in the national semifinals on April 6. The source of NBA speculation because of his 6-foot-6 size and his ability to run a basketball team, Carter-Williams then had about a week to determine whether he would leave Syracuse or play another college season.

Carter-Williams, in that short NCAA-mandated span, declared for the NBA Draft and was subsequently selected by Philadelphia with the 11th pick. But his mother, Mandy Carter-Zagarowski, said then the process was less than perfect.

"He talked with us and he talked with the (Syracuse) coaches," Carter-Zegarowski said. "And I think there was definitely a feeling that this was the year for him to come out. I still think it's a risk. I think it's a shame that they have seven days to decide (their basketball futures)."

Tyler Ennis has already declared his intention to leave Syracuse after one season. Jerami Grant has not made a public determination about his basketball future.

The early entry process, described in nice detail by draftexpress.com, has come under scrutiny by families pondering the choice and by college basketball coaches who bemoan the lack of informed certainty surrounding these decisions. College players who have already declared for the draft have until April 15 to change their minds; but underclassmen can enter the draft until April 27, the NBA's deadline for early entry.

As they decide, players and their families cannot directly contact NBA personnel. Players cannot work out for teams. Their only source of information about their potential draft status comes from their college coaches and the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee, which gathers information from NBA personnel for the prospect. Neither of those options are necessarily accurate predictors of where the player will be selected.

That's partly because none of the players have participated in the NBA combine or worked out for teams, which can dramatically change where a player gets picked.

SU coach Jim Boeheim wants the rule changed.

"The NBA people haven't even looked at the draft yet. They're just gathering material," Boeheim said. "They don't even get to that process until May. And the problem is we're so stupid in college that we make kids come back by April 15. It should be June 1. That way a kid can go work out."

The April 15 deadline was supposed to help college coaches know which of their players would be coming back so they could adjust their recruiting efforts. But Boeheim said that by that date, "we can't get anybody" anyway. Most programs in Syracuse's recruiting stratosphere have already signed players in that year's recruiting class and have focused their efforts on future classes.

"This year, that rule will probably get worked on, we'll probably get something done," Boeheim said. "It should be a June 1st rule. Let the kid go try out. Let him go see how difficult it is. Right now, it's really just a bad system."

Draft Express helpfully posted the timeline for early entry on its website: